When Should You Consider Neuropathic Pain Treatment?

Neuropathic pain can occur if your nervous system is damaged or not functioning properly. You can feel pain from any of the different levels of the nervous system: the peripheral nerves, the spinal cord, and the brain. Together, the spinal cord and brain are known as the central nervous system. Peripheral nerves are those that have spread throughout the rest of the body in places such as organs, arms, legs, fingers and toes.

Damaged nerve fibers send the wrong signals to the pain centers. Nerve function can change at the site of nerve injury and in areas of the central nervous system.

Neuropathy is a malfunction or change in one or more nerves. According to our experts at Youssef Pain Management, diabetes accounts for about 30% of neuropathy cases. Determining the source of neuropathic pain is not always easy. As such one might require Neuropathic Pain Treatment. There are hundreds of diseases associated with this type of pain. 

What Are Some of The Sources of Neuropathic Pain?

Neuropathic pain can be caused by conditions such as:

• Alcoholism.

• Diabetes.

• Problems with the facial nerves.

• HIV infection or AIDS. 

• Central nervous system disorders

• Algoneurodystrophy.

• Shingles.

Other causes are:

• chemotherapy drugs

• Radiotherapy.

• Amputation, which can cause phantom limb pain.

• Compression or inflammation of the spinal nerves.

• Trauma or operations resulting in nerve damage.

• Nerve compression or infiltration by tumors.

What Are The Symptoms of Neuropathic Pain?

Many symptoms can be present in neuropathic pain. These symptoms include:

• Spontaneous pain (pain that occurs without stimulation): throbbing, burning, stabbing, or throbbing pain; This might require analgesics for neuropathic pain for diagnosis.

• Tingling, numbness or tingling sensation

• Evoked Pain: Pain evoked by normally non-painful stimuli such as cold, gentle friction against the skin, pressure, etc. This is called allodynia. Triggered pain can also mean pain aggravated by normally painful stimuli such as pinpricks and heat. This type of pain is called hyperalgesia.

• Uncomfortable and abnormal sensation, whether spontaneous or induced (dysesthesia).

• Sleep disturbances and emotional problems due to insomnia and pain. Pain that may subside in response to a normally painful stimulus (hypoalgesia).

How Is Neuropathic Pain Diagnosed?

Your doctor will take a medical history and do a physical exam and provide a

Prescription for Pain Relief. If your doctor knows or suspects that you have nerve damage, he will recognize the typical symptoms of neuropathic pain. Your provider will then try to find the underlying cause of the neuropathy and track down the symptoms. 

How Is Neuropathic Pain Treated?

The objectives of the neuropathic pain treatment at Youssef Pain Management are:

• Treat the underlying disease.

• Provide pain relief.

• Maintain functionality.

• Improve the quality of life. 

Multimodal therapy is usually needed to treat neuropathic pain.

Getting a prescription for anticonvulsants or antidepressants from your pain specialist does not mean that you are having seizures or that you are depressed. However, it is true that chronic pain can be made worse by anxiety or depression.

Topical Treatments such as lidocaine or capsaicin — patches, creams, or ointments — can be applied to the painful area. Opioid analgesics are less effective in treating neuropathic pain, and side effects may preclude their long-term use. Pain can also be treated with nerve blocks given by pain specialists, including injections of steroids, local anesthetics, or other medications into the affected nerves.

Neuropathic pain that has not responded to the neuropathic pain treatment listed above can be treated with spinal cord stimulation, peripheral nerve stimulation, and brain stimulation. For more info, visit Youssef Pain Management.